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04-09-2013, 06:24 AM
Filed under: Etc. (http://www.autoblog.com/category/etc/), Technology (http://www.autoblog.com/category/tech/), Videos (http://www.autoblog.com/category/videos/), Specialty (http://www.autoblog.com/category/special-limited-editions/)
http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2013/04/tunnelboringmachine.jpg (http://www.motorgen.com/2013/04/09/this-is-how-a-tunnel-boring-machine-will-burrow-a-viaduct-under/#continued)
So it's not exactly automotive, but it is a fascinating vehicle - and you'll excuse us if we don't make any puns about how boring it actually is. A portion of Seattle's Alaskan Way Viaduct (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaskan_Way_Viaduct) is being replaced by a deep tunnel (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaskan_Way_Viaduct_replacement_tunnel), and the machine purpose-built for the job is the world's largest tunnel boring machine (TBM), christened "Bertha." Built by Hitachi Zosen, the 300-foot-long doomsday machine is excavating a 57.5-foot-wide hole for a two-level highway with two lanes in each direction.
Bertha has only recently arrived at the Port of Seattle (http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/Projects/Viaduct/About/FollowBertha) and is still waiting to get off the cargo ship she rode in on. The video below (http://www.motorgen.com/2013/04/09/this-is-how-a-tunnel-boring-machine-will-burrow-a-viaduct-under/#continued) lays out in detail how she'll crawl her way from one end of the tunnel to the other, 6.5 feet at a time. Warning, it's dry, but we think it's interesting. Beneath that is a time-lapse video of Bertha's 6,100 tons being loaded up in 40 pieces for shipping from Japan to Seattle which makes us think of Fraggle Rock (http://search.yahoo.com/r/_ylt=A0oGdXAaeGBRbRcAUjBXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTEyZ2ExamR tBHNlYwNzcgRwb3MDMQRjb2xvA3NrMQR2dGlkA0RGUjVfODE-/SIG=11t85upn5/EXP=1365305498/**http%3a//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fraggle_Rock) and dozers, but perhaps that's just us...Continue reading This is how a tunnel boring machine will burrow a viaduct under Seattle (http://www.autoblog.com/2013/04/09/this-is-how-a-tunnel-boring-machine-will-burrow-a-viaduct-under/)
This is how a tunnel boring machine will burrow a viaduct under Seattle (http://www.autoblog.com/2013/04/09/this-is-how-a-tunnel-boring-machine-will-burrow-a-viaduct-under/) originally appeared on Autoblog (http://www.autoblog.com) on Tue, 09 Apr 2013 08:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds (http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/).
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http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2013/04/tunnelboringmachine.jpg (http://www.motorgen.com/2013/04/09/this-is-how-a-tunnel-boring-machine-will-burrow-a-viaduct-under/#continued)
So it's not exactly automotive, but it is a fascinating vehicle - and you'll excuse us if we don't make any puns about how boring it actually is. A portion of Seattle's Alaskan Way Viaduct (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaskan_Way_Viaduct) is being replaced by a deep tunnel (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaskan_Way_Viaduct_replacement_tunnel), and the machine purpose-built for the job is the world's largest tunnel boring machine (TBM), christened "Bertha." Built by Hitachi Zosen, the 300-foot-long doomsday machine is excavating a 57.5-foot-wide hole for a two-level highway with two lanes in each direction.
Bertha has only recently arrived at the Port of Seattle (http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/Projects/Viaduct/About/FollowBertha) and is still waiting to get off the cargo ship she rode in on. The video below (http://www.motorgen.com/2013/04/09/this-is-how-a-tunnel-boring-machine-will-burrow-a-viaduct-under/#continued) lays out in detail how she'll crawl her way from one end of the tunnel to the other, 6.5 feet at a time. Warning, it's dry, but we think it's interesting. Beneath that is a time-lapse video of Bertha's 6,100 tons being loaded up in 40 pieces for shipping from Japan to Seattle which makes us think of Fraggle Rock (http://search.yahoo.com/r/_ylt=A0oGdXAaeGBRbRcAUjBXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTEyZ2ExamR tBHNlYwNzcgRwb3MDMQRjb2xvA3NrMQR2dGlkA0RGUjVfODE-/SIG=11t85upn5/EXP=1365305498/**http%3a//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fraggle_Rock) and dozers, but perhaps that's just us...Continue reading This is how a tunnel boring machine will burrow a viaduct under Seattle (http://www.autoblog.com/2013/04/09/this-is-how-a-tunnel-boring-machine-will-burrow-a-viaduct-under/)
This is how a tunnel boring machine will burrow a viaduct under Seattle (http://www.autoblog.com/2013/04/09/this-is-how-a-tunnel-boring-machine-will-burrow-a-viaduct-under/) originally appeared on Autoblog (http://www.autoblog.com) on Tue, 09 Apr 2013 08:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds (http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/).
Permalink (http://www.autoblog.com/2013/04/09/this-is-how-a-tunnel-boring-machine-will-burrow-a-viaduct-under/) | Email this (http://www.autoblog.com/forward/20532800/) | Comments (http://www.autoblog.com/2013/04/09/this-is-how-a-tunnel-boring-machine-will-burrow-a-viaduct-under/#comments)
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